Customer Reviews

Presto 02160 6-Quart Electric Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I am a first time user of any type of pressure cooker so was a little afraid of the old stories of pressure cookers. However, that fear is all gone. I had no trouble what so ever following the manual that came with the Presto stainless steel electric Pressure cooker. It is so easy. Just follow the directions. Have cooked several times with it already. Food was great. I have even cooked one of the recipes. The only thing I would suggest is brown your meats in an alternate pan as it does have a tendency to stick to the bottom of the cooker. Bottom line is I would recommend this product. Presto 02160 6-Quart Electric Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker.

A long time ago I read somewhere that American Indians say that one must, when learning something new, perform the activity 28 times for it to stay in our mind. Well, my electric Presto 02160 6-quart pressure cooker arrived just a few days ago, and I've successfully used it for two stew recipes, and have only 26 more times to go before I can consider myself an expert with this pc. My first effort consisted of cooking boneless, skinless chicken thighs stewed with carrots and broth. The meal was excellent and took only six minutes to cook subsequent to browning the poultry in a small bit of cooking oil in the pc. Normally, this recipe would take five hours in my slow cooker.

My second effort also involved poultry, which we love as you can guess, but this time it was in the form of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, first browned in oil in the pc, and pressure cooked with veggies and broth [and noodles at the end] for a delicious chicken noodle soup. I used homemade, precooked noodles which I had in the freezer and added them to the hot broth after I had cooked the meat and veggies.

The pressure-cooker regulator was relatively quiet both times I used the pc, and because I followed the instructions exactly as stated in the instructions/recipes booklet--having read the instructions several times, first--I learned there was nothing to fear when using this appliance. I highly recommend this product especially because of its ease of use, reasonable price and the excellent flavor it imparts to the cooked ingredients.

Updated on Sept. 29, 2010: This particular pc is working so well for me that I have bought a second one just like it here at Amazon. I have made rice pudding several times and it was delicious. I've made chicken curry that was also excellent. In my family we are partial to stews and soups, and it is a breeze to make them. I've even reached the point that I can improvise my own recipes for the pc, and nothing has been amiss from my doing so.

It had been many years since I used a pressure cooker, but now with their ease of use, reasonable price, and tasty meals--and with the continuing increase in utility rates--I believe I am eating very well and staying ahead of the utilities game.

My Christmas-gifting list is also coming into play: My daughter has asked for a pressure cooker just like mine, because when she has visited me, the meals I've served her have been more than enticing. Blessings on Presto and Amazon and reasonable prices for quality products!

I did a lot of research before buying this product Presto 02160 6-Quart Electric Stainless-Steel Pressure Cooker and my goal was to find a Reliable electric pressure cooker that works out of the box and won't break after 6 or 7 uses, in fact it better last for several years! The primary Value to me is the Time Savings I get when using a pressure cooker to prepare home cooked meals, and electric models are supposed to come to pressure faster than stove-top models. If I don't have enough time to Invest in the kitchen, I definitely don't have enough time to Spend on the phone with customer service, so I looked for something that works and that will keep on working.

I started by looking at the solid-state versions, even took some trips to the local stores to see and touch a few models -- oddly enough, this particular product wasn't on display at any of the stores in my location, I only learned about it from my online research. From customer feedback, there seem to be some ongoing reliability problems with solid state control systems (pushbuttons, automatic timers, and LED displays) and this feedback wasn't limited to a single vendor (as of fall of 2010).

The product arrived quickly as promised and was in great shape, well packed. Some minor assembly (putting the handles on) -- if you know how to use a screwdriver, you shouldn't have any problems. The screws were taped into the handles - I like that as I didn't have to go looking for small parts in the packaging. I also like the design of the feet, keeps the cooker off the countertop and prevents unintentional movement. This product has a simple temperature control dial (similar to an electric frying pan) -- proven technology that lasts a long time. After you've sealed it up and put on the pressure regulator, turn the temperature as high as it will go and wait for it to seal. Once the regulator starts to rock, let it cook for 1 or 2 minutes, then turn the temperature down until the pilot light just turns out - the cooker then cycles around that temperature throughout the rest of the cooking time. Pretty simple. If you don't have a count-down timer, go to your friendly neighborhood store and buy one to keep on the counter next to your cooker.

I've been using it for a couple of months so far and am Absolutely Delighted; easy to use, easy and quick to clean, absolutely Zero Problems. I've been trying recipes from the book that came with the cooker as well as some of my own. Very Quick to heat up (vs. my experiences with a stove-top version) and cooking time is Very short. This is definitely a Time Saver for me.

If you've never used a pressure cooker before, I highly recommend that you read the instructions before you use it (as with any pressure cooker). I also recommend that you have all of your ingredients ready and staged Before you start cooking; this is more important with recipes where you're using the cooker as an electric fry pan (browning meat for example) before using it under pressure.

The only feedback / suggestion for improvement that I have is for the technical writers to put the information on How To "cool cooker at once" in a more visible location -- I wrote the page number down at the bottom of the Table of Contents for when I forget where to find it! If you're looking for it too, you'll find the information you need in the How To Use section (in my manual it's page 11, step #12) -- I won't describe the procedure here in case the instructions change, and you should really be familiar with Your user's booklet.

Happy cooking!

I had never used a pressure cooker before my wife bought one at a garage sale a year ago. I quickly found out how fast that a pressure cooker can prepare a delicious family meal. The only problem was that the cooker required a gas stove. The bottom was concaved and with my glass top stove a long time was required to bring it up to heat. I decided to search for an electric model solve that problem. I looked at a couple of automatic digital models but they all seemed to have service questions with their digital bells and whistles. I don't need automatic start and stop timers on a pressure cooker. Maybe if I could text or tweet with it--- Never mind! I've got timers all over the house. I don't need one on a pressure cooker. I chose this 6 quart Presto and I'm glad I did! The temperature is adjustable from 0 to 400 degrees. That means that I can use it as a slow cooker or a fast cooker. I don't even need my crock pot anymore! So far I've made a 3 lb rump roast with root vegetables in about 45 mins. My next project is chili. High quality, high value and low maintenance.

THE VALVE IN THE HANDLE CAN GET STUCK ON THE GAP BETWEEN THE POT AND HANDLE. USE A KNIFE TIP TO FREE THE VALVE SO IT WILL SET AND BUILD PRESSURE. YOU JUST NEED TO TAP IT TO FREE IT AND LET IT SET OTHERWISE IT WILL CONTINUE TO LEAK STEAM AND YOU WILL HEAR A CONTINUAL HISS.

OMG...I'm in love with this pressure cooker. I had to put it together myself and you do have to screw in the screw carefully and thoroughly. I have used it for everything and it comes with an incredible little recipe book and everything has turned out wonderful. I like that I don't need a stove to use it so I take it with me everywhere and use it wherever I am. I highly recommend it. Oh it did get dark at the bottom but I washed it and reheated with plain water and the stains all came out. Works just as great as my stove top pressure cooker. The lid lines up well. At first it took me a minute to figure it out but now it's no problem at all.

I have owned Presto pressure cookers for over 30 years. I have an old aluminum 4 and 6 qt. electric ones. This new stainless cooker is thinner but seems well built. The sealing ring comes out much easier and is easy to clean. Of course, given today's litigious society, the company has incorporated a couple of improved safety features. One is the pop-off is in the handle and recessed. Another one exists on the lid in the usual place. Another is a small metal stem that sticks out of the lid handle they you really don't even see; however if you don't have the lid seated correctly it is held open not allowing pressure to build, probably a good thing. The first thing I noticed is that I had to assemble the handles. Not hard at all but some assembly required none the less. Second the rubber feet leave black marks on my white counter if I scoot the cooker any distance. No big deal, but they could have been made from a material that doesn't leave marks.

Concerning the cooking, this thing gets up to pressure MUCH faster than my old aluminum cookers. My old cooker might take 10 minutes to reach pressure. This cooker was there in about 3 minutes...I like that. Don't know if it cooks as good as the older cookers yet but my old cooker was at pressure when the temp control was set to between 250-300 degrees. The new one was at pressure at 200-250. Is this a calibration problem or is the pressure actually lower meaning slower cooking time. I have not had it longer enough to tell.

It does come with a basket and a metal wire that holds the basket off of the bottom of the pan. I am used to a raised metal piece with holes in it that sat on the bottom and held the food out of the water and away from the heating element. The basket is nice but I would have liked to have a metal grate for the bottom like before. I could use the old ones but they are made from aluminum and that would defeat the purpose for buying a stainless steel cooker. I mean...who want Alzheimer's. I suppose the basket could sit directly on the bottom but it would be in direct contact with the metal.

After the first use the bottom of the cooker had some spots in the metal that wouldn't come out. Don't know what they're from or why they're there, but it is not the beautiful mirrored finish that it started with. I don't think it will affect the function of the cooker at all, but is doesn't look as nice as it did. All in all I am glad I got this cooker.

I agree with all the reviewers that this is SO simple to use and SO unbelievably fast. Cheaper cuts of meats cook tender & quickly. I can cook "slow" recipes on weeknights with easy cleanup & so much less stress. Bean soups are a breeze. And I read that the electrics use 70% less energy. So fast cooking, more nutrition, more flavor, able to cook cheaper & healthier foods, save on energy--how cool is that? I used to use a stovetop pressure cooker but you have little control over the temperature/pressure (see below).

As for the sticking issue, I find you need to be careful at the 400F ("browning") temperature not to scorch foods, esp veggies, flour-dredged meats--turn the temp down to 300 or 350F; but if you are searing uncoated meat, 400F is ideal for a good fast sear that releases from the metal. It also gives a nice carmelized flavor. If your meat is sticking, you could be turning it too quickly. Jiggle it before trying to pull it up to see if it releases.

This cooker is nice because you can always turn the temp down a bit if you're nervous about burning. Gives you a better feel for cooking in this pot, I think.

By the way, for recipe conversions:

High setting = 250F = 15 psi
Low setting = 225-230F = 7.5 psi
Brown = 350-400F

And I LOVE this book: http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Wardens-Slow-Food-Fast/dp/0984188711/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1294439241&sr=8-1

I had an old reliable Presto stovetop pressure cooker but then I got a glasstop stove so I could not use my old cooker any more because it is so hard to regulate the heat. I started looking for a digital electronic cooker and totally passed this cooker by because it seemed "old" to me (my mistake!)

After reading reviews and talking to people who owned electronic cookers I decided totally against the digital or computerized models in favor of this one and I am so glad I did. I have used it for 5 months now. Easy to use, easy to clean, easy to store, simple to regulate... all good! The locking valve in the handle base occasionally gets stuck under the little circle it is supposed to pop up into, but if you poke at it a bit with a knife or skewer it pops right up and cooking can commence. Not an issue at all.

This cooker only really has a few parts that will ever need to be replaced and these gaskets and elements and such are all readily available and inexpensive (which is also the beauty of the stovetop pressure cooker and why they last forever). I think this cooker also will last me a long long time and will turn out to be an excellent value. I expect to still be using it 10 years from now.

I highly recommend getting Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker with this cooker... the meat charts are so useful. I own LOTS of cookbooks but I find this is the one I return to most often when I am using this appliance.

First time I entered the Pressure cooker domain and its fun. I made chicken soup in about 20 min. Stew in about 30.

Totally rocks. Going to get a cookbook and find some more recipes. Want to try a corned beef and ribs next.

Awsome!

Oh, the quality of the product is no doubt exceptional!!